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Green has historically been the power color of limited draft. In the time period where drafts became popular (Invasion Block, by my reckoning, as it was the first to really push the draft archetype, and was also there for the birth of Magic Online), most of the super-powerful cards had been removed from the other colors, and 7th Edition to 10th Edition were known for being very slow draft formats, where big creatures were king. As such, Green, having the biggest creatures and the mana acceleration to get them out, ended up being the ´´best´´ color. It might not have the most bombs or the best cards, but because it could almost always field big men, it could take advantage of the slow game and fight its way out.

Green still has those same powers of big men and access to lots of mana, but the format has shifted. While still much slower than Shards of Alara, M10 is much faster than 10th Edition, and the small creatures are much more relevant than they used to be. As such, green's ´´big dumb guys´´ are not as relevant as they used to be. Also, there aren't as many of them, as the small size of the set has forced Wizards to only put in a few big men in order to leave room for other relevant tricks and spells. As such, Green isn't the ´´best´´ color anymore, but it's certainly very strong. Since its ´´show new players´´ concepts are very strong in limited, it doesn't have a lot of ´´dead´´ cards that are simply in there to bend the rules. I think that Black and White have moved ahead of it when it comes to being main colors, but Green is perfectly capable of being a main color or a support color, and is also essential for fueling splashes.

Please remember that I use a harsh evaluation system to divide cards into letter-grade tiers, and that personal preference is always important in card selection. A cards are bombs or near bombs, B cards are very strong, C cards are your typical ´´mass´´ cards, D cards are barely playable, F cards shouldn't be played, and S cards are intended for the sideboard or special circumstances.

- This is one of my favorite Green cards for limited. Being Uncommon, odds are you will open one or two in each draft, and their 3GG mana cost means that they tend to get passed by anyone not playing Green as a main color. People look down on it due to its high cost and small body, but it's incredibly powerful. With so little removal available to Green, and so many artifacts and enchantments that NEED to go, this ´´sideboard without a sideboard´´ card is an excellent selection. Since it destroys lands, its second ability is never a dead draw (even if it may not be very important) and its Deathtouch ability means that it can always at least trade with a creature later on, meaning it's usually a 2-for-1, highly unusual for Green. - A

- The ability to quickly create an army of tokens is always powerful, and the fact that you're getting a 5/5 body for 5 mana to boot is just wonderful. At the very least you can create two Ants the turn after it comes into play, and its fat body means it's very hard to kill if it doesn't get involved in combat. Ant Queen

- You're effectively paying three mana for a 4/5 Treefolk with this guy, which is very strong. While he's vulnerable to removal, you don't lose the land of he dies, and you may in fact find yourself killing or sacrificing him in order to ´´save´´ your Treefolk land by turning it back into a plain ol' forest. Remember also that if you play him on your fourth turn and have him target a land that you played on a previous turn, the resulting creature does not have summoning sickness, as the permanent has been in play for more than a turn (the old man-land rule). Four hasty power on turn four is hard to stop, making the Druid one of the stronger creatures in the game early on - A

- It accelerates you no matter what color you have, and it's one of the only things in Green allowed to fly, making it a great target for enchantments and equipment. It's also very much needed in Constructed, making it a high demand card. You've been playing with this guy for years, you must know how good he is by now. - A

means that he's suddenly much less powerful, and while that is true in Constructed he's just as good as he always was in Limited. He ensures you get a fourth-turn land drop in a color that you need, and he's big enough to do some actual fighting. - B

will probably net you 8-9 life, maybe even 10 if you hold out, but usually that only adds a turn or two in terms of giving you options. You could consider it a 23rd card if you need it or are using a deck with limited early defense, but if you genuinely need this card, your deck probably has problems that few cards can solve. - D

- A 5/3 that can't block effectively is nothing to get too excited about. It has five power for five mana, making it not useless, but it trades with a lot of creatures at Common and it dies to Lightning Bolt

- Green is supposed to get cost-effective mid and late range creatures, and this guy certainly is a good mid range creature. In previous Editions, he'd have been very good because he'd be a 3/3 for 3 when most cost 4, but as it is, he's mostly just a general use guy now. - C

- He's been around forever, and he's always been relevant in Limited because he's got six power for six mana. You could certainly do worse for a big dumb guy who's great for attacking, but you could do better too. Still, because he's a big man in a world of small men, and because he pretty much always has to be blocked by multiple creatures, he's marginally better than all the other ´´big dumb guys´´ green has in the common slot. - B

- My friends and I call small creatures which are intended to be blockers ´´speedbumps.´´ This is the ultimate speedbump, since it has spikes and landmines embedded in it. While it will pretty much always die when it blocks, its Deathtouch ability means that it will never die alone. A two-mana Spider that can trade with a Dragon, Demon

- Like the other ´´lords´´ in this set, the Archdruid suffers from the fact that it doesn't have a lot of people to lord over within the set itself. I see it as one of the stronger ones though, since it can ramp up the mana base to very high levels, and throw out lots of mana for X-spells like Fireball

- The strength of this card really relies on what it can bring out. A lot of people see this as something amazing, since it decreases the cost of any creature to just G. But it's dependent on you getting good creatures, and in general most worthwhile creatures in Limited will come out on their own by turn 5. The real strength of the Piper is that it allows you to cast two creatures per turn, or to cast one while leaving mana open for a trick, or by allowing you to bring a blocker into play during the attack phase. However, this is all dependent on you having something worthwhile in your hand. Still, its ability to bring stuff in at instant speed alone makes it a bomb, it's just not as great as a lot of people seem to think. - A

- Another speedbump chump blocker, this guy at least allows you to draw into something. I'm never too excited about these, since while they allow me to draw a card, they give me a body that's too small to do anything without help from the Archdruid. It's not a bad card, but it doesn't do much other than replace itself. - C

- Green is a popular color, and the G in this guy's casting cost means that he's splashable, but his stats are pathetic. Four mana for two power is terrible, and seeing as he won't do a lot of fighting (he should only be used when unblockable) his three toughness isn't relevant since he can still be easily killed by Lightning Bolt

- I'm really glad they included this guy for the ´´big dumb vanilla creature´´ slot in Uncommon. He's so enormous that he can never really be ignored, and he's very had to kill by blocking. His one green means he's splashable as well, and in a format where size matters, he's just a very good creature. - B

- Probably the worst creature removal spell in the set since it doesn't actually kill the creature and requires it to be used first, it's still removal and thus still relevant. It's mediocre, but if you are short on removal you will have to run it anyway. - C

is the same way, only in Green, it tends to be used more to save creatures when things get hairy. It's very strong, especially when played well, but I wouldn't call it a bomb since it doesn't actually help you to win, it just keeps you from losing. - B

is a necessary defense against enemy air units. Unfortunately it doesn't actually do anything to help you to win, and with four mana for two power it's not cut out to do a lot of fighting. You'll want these in your deck, but you won't get excited about them. - C

- In Constructed, the Stag is a powerhouse which can trample Faeries underfoot and brush off counterspells like nobody's business. In Limited, it's a 3/3. While it's nice that it can't be hit by a Doom Blade

- You're guaranteed to get a huge army with this spell, which is handy, even if the tokens are only 2/2. In general you'll get 3-4 guys, since you should have half forests when you play it, and seven mana for eight power is worth it. It's not exceptional, but it is strong, especially when you are trying to swarm for the win. - B

- Nine power for seven mana? With Shroud? When I saw this card spoiled, I couldn't believe they'd printed it. While Shroud is a minor disability since it can't get Trample, the fact that it's a 9/9 that MUST be killed via combat makes it incredibly powerful. It's definitely the best of Green's ´´big dumb guys´´ and I can't think of much I'd take over it if I was playing Green. - A

is as good as it always was. It can come out early and accelerate you, and becomes irrelevant after about turn five due to its small size. It's a great card which really helps Green power out its big men, and players intending to go the Big Green Men route really need to get as many of these as they can. - B

- This means that, every other turn or so, you'll get a free creature with most Green decks. While expensive to cast, this spell ensures that your army will grow and your deck will thin in the late game. It's not a bomb since it's hard to put creatures on top and you can't choose what you will get, but it's not bad, since you don't even have to draw the creature for it to enter play. - B

- He takes a few turns to get online, but he's Green's only real direct damage guy. It's a real problem that he taps all your wolves and you have no choice as to how damage gets split up, but after two or three turns it reaches the point where you have enough wolves to where you can crush your enemy with them. Remember also that you can assign the wolves as blockers then tap the Master to have them team up to kill a guy, although they will not deal combat damage if they die in the fight. - A

is a bomb-like spell, then two and a third of them slapped together must be a super bomb, right? Well, not exactly. At four mana, this spell is too expensive to be a cheap trick, forcing you to leave lots of mana open if you intend to use it. Also, it's almost always too big, +7/+7 is usually much more than you need to save a creature. It's not a bad card, but because it's so expensive and so limited in scope, it's really more intended to be used offensively, by hitting an opponent for 7 or by allowing a trampler to take out an entire team. - C

- Three power for four mana is okay in Limited, and its Shroud ability means that it can't be pumped, but it can't be killed by spells either. The thing is that it is too small and lacking in other abilities to be very relevant, and as such it usually just ends up trading with a 2/2. - C

- Able to come down on turn 1 and grow massive against the right opponent, this guy is very powerful coming in the sideboard, but too unpredictable for the main deck. It's also possible that your opponent will hold off on playing Blue or Black spells in order to prevent the Adder from growing, or simply bounce/destroy it once it becomes unmanageable. It's still strong, of course. - S

is very strong against a lot of what's in some decks, but in general there's no room for it before sideboarding. Unless you see a lot of very good enchantments and artifacts going around, leave it off to the side for game one, but make sure if you are running green to pick up one or two once they begin to lap. - S

- Yes, it can't bring back your removal spells, but it's still good as it allows you to bring back your best creature, artifact or enchantment. It's not super-powerful and it's very dependent on what you can bring back, but it's a very good card anyway. It should be picked highly, especially if you have something you would want to bring back. - B

- This card is on the border of what is acceptable for the risk of enchanting a creature. By making it bigger, it makes the creature harder to kill, and you're getting three power for three mana. But it's still rather risky, and unless you're pairing up with White or Blue, all you'll be doing is making big dumb guys even bigger and dumber. It's iffy, but it has a place in some decks. - D

. Chump blockers and utility men suddenly become massive monsters, and even if they don't bring about a win that turn, they usually wipe the enemy board and allow an easy strike next turn. This is definitely the strongest Limited card at the Uncommon level. - A

meant you had to sacrifice a creature for your team to get through. The Unicorn is a little pricey at four mana, and has lousy stats, but its sole purpose is to allow you to alpha-strike unmolested. Play it the turn before you strike, and then let all of your men slip by while it is ripped to shreds. It's not a great card because it won't make you win, but it will definitely break a creature stalemate. - B

- This card has lots of potential. If they can't kill it in one swoop, it almost doubles in size, making it very hard to kill. If you play it late, it's usually too big to kill all at once, and will prevent them from attacking if you have it sitting around. The only problem is that it needs so much babying in order to get huge, first in terms of initial mana investment and then in terms of getting it hurt but not killed. As such, it ends up being strong but not a total bomb, especially as it is still vulnerable to spot removal like Doom Blade

is essential for decks that need to ramp up for big creatures or which are splashing various other colors. It also allows you to run big guys even if you have only 16 lands, and helps smooth out the mana curve. You need to get one or two for any green deck. - B

- A cute combat trick that lets you save one guy one time, which in general isn't worth a card. If your deck is highly dependent on combat men and has almost no evasion you might consider running it, but really it doesn't offer much. Death Ward

- Because he's one of the few guys with trample I want to rate him higher, but with only four power his trample ability rarely matters much, since it's easy for your opponent to get four toughness together when using a dedicated blocker, a wall, or a pair of smaller creatures. It's good, but not worth getting excited over - C

Green has the strongest creatures of all five colors, which makes sense considering it's the creature color. It also has very few cards which are unplayable in Limited. The problem is that it has no evasion, excepting Protection from Black/Blue and Forest

for an alpha strike. Heavy green decks find that they are in a war of attrition, with their big men slowly dying to hordes of smaller men on the other side. This is why Green usually ends up being a secondary color, as it doesn't have the oomph to get in those last few points of damage. This wouldn't be an issue if it had more creatures with Trample, or more ways to grant Trample, but as it stands Green often ends up in a standoff late in the game.

Still, Green is strong enough to be a main color with the right cards, and its big vanilla (or near vanilla) creatures can be very hard to deal with. It's odd, but I think Green has the strongest CARDS in Limited, but it isn't the strongest COLOR, as it is very effectively hobbled by high mana costs and a lack of evasion or removal. In a vacuum, its massive creatures will quickly win the game uncontested, but no opponent is simply going to sit there and let a Craw Wurm

crush them to death. Also, although the format is slow compared to Shards of Alara Draft, it's still fast enough that Green's lack of good mid-range creatures (note that almost all its mid-range men are vanilla or designed to defend) can be a real problem, especially against a player with strong White or Black rushing creatures. Flying can also be fatal if a Green player doesn't draw a spider and keep it out. I've found that a Doom Blade

These powers, matched with these hobbles, make Green one of the most interesting colors in M10 despite the fact that it has so many Vanilla or near-Vanilla creatures. It also makes it the best ´´other´´ color, since it can provide mana and big fat men to decks which otherwise lack them. I think that M10's Green really reflects how Wizards is heavily testing and sculpting the core set to maximize its draftability and fairness, making it powerful enough to play but not so powerful as to be the only color worth playing.

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